Sears has been trying to restore profitability by lowering costs, trimming inventory and selling or spinning off assets. In December, the chain announced that it will spin off its Landsí End clothing business as a separate company by distributing stock to the retailerís shareholders.

Sears said yesterday that it lost $358 million, or $3.37 per share, in the quarter that ended on Feb. 1. That compares with a loss of $489 million, or $4.61 per share, a year earlier.

The company, based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said revenue dropped 14 percent to $10.59 billion from $12.26 billion. The performance was hurt in part by one fewer week in the latest quarter and having fewer Sears and Kmart stores.

Sales at stores open at least a year declined 6.4 percent. At Sears stores, the figure fell 7.8 percent because of softness in categories such as tools, consumer electronics and home appliances. It dropped 5.1 percent at Kmart locations because of weakness in consumer electronics, toys and drugstore, grocery and household items.

This figure is a key indicator of a retailerís health because it excludes results from recently opened or closed stores.

Total costs and expenses fell to $10.73 billion from $12.88 billion. Merchandise inventories declined to $7 billion from $7.6 billion.

In the full year, Sears lost $1.37 billion, or $12.87 per share. In the previous year, it lost $930 million, or $8.78 per share.

Earnings were boosted by the continued rise in home prices, which reduced the amounts the company had to set aside to cover losses on mortgages.

Freddieís fourth-quarter profit reported yesterday nearly doubled from earnings of $4.5 billion in the last three months of 2012.

McLean, Va.-based Freddie said it will pay a dividend of $10.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury next month. Freddie already had repaid its full government bailout of $71.3 billion after paying its third-quarter dividend.

The government rescued Freddie and larger sibling Fannie Mae at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008. Together, the companies received taxpayer aid totaling $187 billion.

Washington-based Fannie reported that it earned $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter, its eighth-straight profitable quarter. Fannie will have repaid its full government bailout of $116 billion after paying its fourth-quarter dividend.

Gap

Gap Inc. reported a 12.5 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit on a 3 percent decline in revenue as the clothing retailer discounted heavily during the holiday shopping season to entice customers.

The clothing chain, which operates Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, also issued a profit outlook for the full year that was below analystsí expectations.

Gap reported net income of $307 million, or 68 cents per share, in the three-month period through Feb. 1. That compares with $351 million, or 73 cents per share, in the year-earlier period, which included an extra week.

Gap posted revenue of $4.58 billion, down from $4.73 billion.

Analysts were expecting 65 cents per share on quarterly revenue of $4.58 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1 percent.

Gap expects earnings per share in the range of $2.90 to $2.95 in its current fiscal year. Analysts had expected $3.02 per share, on average.

Gap also said its board authorized a 10 percent increase in its quarterly dividend. The company will pay 22 cents per share on April 30 to shareholders of record on April 9.

NewPage

Paper producer NewPage, which soon might be acquired by another company, lost about $2 million last year, the Dayton-area company said on Wednesday.

That loss compares with a profit of $1.26 billion in 2012, the company said in an earnings report.

NewPage attributed the drop to costs associated with its stay in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its subsequent reorganization. NewPage, which has about 350 employees in the Dayton area, left bankruptcy in late 2012.

Net sales dipped to $3.05 billion in 2013 from $3.13 billion in 2012, a decrease of $77 million, or 2 percent.